The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Aymara was released in 2022 by Miller et Bertaux, composed by Bertrand Duchaufour. The name refers to the Aymara people of the Andes, indigenous to Bolivia, Peru, and Chile, who have burned Palo Santo as purifying incense for centuries. Duchaufour built this fragrance as an olfactory postcard from that tradition, translating ceremonial smoke into something wearable. Not a literal recreation. A translation. The kind of thing Miller et Bertaux does best: taking a cultural reference and distilling it into something personal, something wearable, something that means something before you even smell it.
Palo Santo is the cornerstone. Not just any wood, this is the kind that burns clean, that has been used for purification rituals by the Aymaras for generations. Duchaufour pairs it with frankincense, adding a sacred resin depth, and cork, an unexpected mineral note that keeps the composition from becoming merely aromatic. The heart brings Guatemala cardamom, warm and soft, and caraway, herbal and slightly bitter. Citron adds a brief brightness before the whole thing settles into ambergris and crystallised moss. What makes Aymara distinctive is its restraint. This is not a fragrance that performs. It is a fragrance that lingers.
The evolution
The opening is smoke first, everything else second. Palo Santo announces itself green and woody, immediately austere, immediately monastic. Frankincense layers in quietly, resinous, sacred, the kind of smoke that belongs in a temple. Cork sits underneath, mineral and dry, an unexpected anchor that keeps the whole thing from floating upward into abstraction. Thirty minutes in, the heart arrives. Guatemala cardamom softens everything, bringing warmth that wasn't there before. Caraway adds an herbal dimension, not quite cumin, not quite fennel, something between, that gives the composition its edge. Citron flickers briefly, a flash of citrus brightness that lifts the whole thing before it fades. The drydown is where Aymara settles into itself. Ambergris brings a salt-tinged, slightly animalic warmth that bridges smoke and moss. Crystallised moss, enthusiasts's term, and an evocative one, adds an earthy, mineral depth that keeps the fragrance close to the skin. The smoke never fully disappears.
Cultural impact
Aymara takes its name from the Aymara people, an indigenous group indigenous to the Andean highlands of Bolivia and Peru. Palo Santo, or 'holy wood', has been used in sacred rituals across South America for centuries, burned for spiritual cleansing and meditation. This fragrance brings that tradition into modern perfumery, honouring the aromatic practices of the Andes while using frankincense, a resin with deep roots in Middle Eastern ceremonial traditions. The combination creates a cross-cultural bridge between ancient uses of smoke and scent.
